1999 Kensington and Chelsea by-election

The 1999 Kensington and Chelsea by-election was held on 25 November 1999 after the member of Parliament for the constituency, Alan Clark (Conservative), died of a brain tumour on 5 September 1999.

This was the first safe Conservative seat to have a by-election in the 1997–2001 UK Parliament. There was immediate speculation that Michael Portillo, the most high-profile casualty of the 1997 general election, would use it to return to frontline politics. Portillo immediately confirmed his interest in the seat, but was then confronted with the publication of an interview he had given previously that summer in which he had confirmed that while at Peterhouse, Cambridge he had had homosexual affairs.

Portillo was selected as Conservative candidate but faced demonstrations organised by gay rights group OutRage! and its principal campaigner Peter Tatchell who protested against his vote for an unequal age of consent for gay and straight sex, and support for the ban on homosexuality in the UK armed forces while Secretary of State for Defence. Tatchell continued to try to confront Portillo throughout the election, not assuaged by Portillo saying that he had changed his mind on the age of consent.

The Labour Party selected Robert Atkinson, who had fought the 1997 election and was a local councillor. The Liberal Democrats also renominated their general election candidate, Robert Woodthorpe Browne. Because of the prominence of the by-election in central London and the big political name, there were a wide variety of fringe and minor party candidates. Polling day was 25 November. Portillo was returned safely to Parliament.

Result

1999 by-election: Kensington and Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Michael Portillo	Template:Replace	56.4
		Robert Atkinson	4,298	22.0
		Robert Woodthorpe Browne	1,831	9.4
		John Stevens	740	3.8
		Damian Hockney	450	2.3
		Hugo Charlton	446	2.3
	Democratic Party	The Earl of Burford	182	0.9
		Colin Paisley	141	0.7
		Michael Irwin	97	0.5
	UK Pensioners Party	Paul Oliver	75	0.4
		Stephen Scott-Fawcett	57	0.3
	Independent	Louise Hodges	48	0.3
		Gerard 'Ged' Valente	35	0.2
	People's Net Dream Ticket Party	Lisa Lovebucket	26	0.1
	Environmentalist	John Davies	24	0.1
	Equal Parenting Party	Peter May	24	0.1
		Howling Laud Hope	20	0.1
	Independent	Tonysamuelsondotcom	15	0.1
Majority			6,706	34.4
Turnout			19,510	29.7
	hold		Swing

Previous result

General election 1997: Kensington and Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Alan Clark	Template:Replace	53.6
		Robert Atkinson	10,368	27.9
		Robert Woodthorpe Browne	5,668	15.3
	Teddy Bear Alliance	Edward Bear	218	0.6
	United Kingdom Pensioners Party	Paul Oliver	176	0.5
		Susan Hamza	122	0.3
		Paul Sullivan	65	0.2
		Pete Parliament	44	0.1
Majority			9,519	25.7
Turnout			36,548	54.7
	hold		Swing	-12.9

See also

• Lists of United Kingdom by-elections

External links

• Campaign literature from the by-election